Self-reported health, function and sense of control in a community sample of adults: A preliminary report from the gas fields

Background: The Marcellus Shale deposit in the eastern United States is a rich source of natural gas. Southwestern Pennsylvania, an area with a long history of energy extraction, is experiencing rapid growth in unconventional gas extraction. This study investigated relationships among environmental changes associated with unconventional natural gas extraction and emotional health. We hypothesized that participants living in communities with more intense extraction activity would have poorer emotional health and function than participants living in communities with less extraction activity.

Methods: A convenience sample of 239 adults was recruited from one clinic in southwestern Pennsylvania between November 2012 and January 2013. Participants completed the SF-36v2^© and the Index of Social Control, and provided demographic data. Publically available data were used to determine level of industrial activity associated with unconventional natural gas extraction and socioeconomic characteristics of the township of residence for each participant. A sequential approach to multiple regression was used to determine relationships among individual characteristics, community characteristics, and emotional and physical health and function as measured by eight SF-36 subscales.

Results: In the regression model, individual level variables accounted for between 16 and 25% of the variance on the SF-36 subscales, and all relationships were statistically significant. Addition of community-level variables did not improve the model. While some individual-level variables were associated with individual SF-36 subscales, only social control was associated with all subscales when accounting for all other individual- and community-level variables.

Conclusions: Lower sense of control was associated with worse health in this population, while level of industrial activity as measured by number of wells in the township of residence, was not. A more precise measure of exposure is needed to better understand the relationship between industrial activity and health. Interventions designed to enhance sense of control may improve health in communities undergoing environmental change.